The repeated summons issued by the Assam police to veteran journalists Siddharth Varadrajan and Karan Thapar is bad in law and contempt of procedure. The fundamental postulates of criminal justice have been violated. The right to be informed of the crime and complainant is the basic principle of any summon, especially when it comes with the possibility of arrest. Without it, how can a person prepare his defense. It is violative of both the right to fair trial and right against self incrimination. The second summon on similar grounds, involving threat to sovereignty of India and promoting enmity between communities, by the Guwahati police, after protection accorded by the Supreme Court in a summon by morigaon police, is contempt of court and procedure. It points to a malafide, on part of the administration. The Himanta administration is showing extreme intolerance to criticism and this is contemptuous of democracy itself. Democracy is based upon informed consent of the people and the information is provided by the media. Freedom of expression and press is therefore the basic premise of a functioning democracy. Targeting such senior journalists is also an attempt to intimidate the free and alternative media , that is otherwise not dependent on the government. With the mainstream media already captured through revenue models, the alternative digital media is now the primary target.
